Pumpkin and White Bean Bisque with Sage Pesto and Dill Rolls

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Pompeian Grapeseed Oil Spray. This rich, hearty soup with it’s bright pesto topping comes together in mere minutes and would make for a delicious first course at a holiday meal, alongside a batch of these easy-to-make fluffy dill-infused rolls!

You guys have probably picked up on this, but I’m a pretty even-keeled person.

Especially when you ignore my flair for hyperbole, love of gossip/drama (so long as it doesn’t involve me), and propensity to shriek in a high-pitched tone at absolutely everything/absolutely nothing (depending on how you look at it).

And now I am exactly eight days into wedding planning and have morphed into someone with absurdly strong opinions, who yells at her fiance about exposed brick and why it is a necessary component of any wedding venue worth it’s salt into the wee hours of the night (morning?), and screams at her shiny new wedding Pinterest board in the middle of lab (when she shouldn’t even be pinning at all!) because she has either stumbled across something absolutely adorable or absolutely horrendously absurd – there’s no filter.

And did I mention that I have no idea what I’m making for Thanksgiving or even where I”m spending it?

I need a breather, a bowl of soup, and a hefty dose of dill roll.

Doctor’s orders.

STAT.

This pumpkin white bean bisque is actually especially perfect for nerve-calming because it tastes like you’re slurping the creamiest thing EVER. When really, it’s all protein and fiber from the white beans. With a bright splash of herbalicious pesto on top. Can’t go wrong with that.

And because soup pretty much requires some kind of bread to go with it, I whipped up a batch of these dill rolls from the latest issue of Bon Appetit. It was actually a two-for-one kind of deal because they were also auditioning for a spot on whatever Thanksgiving table I’ll be sitting at.

So if you’re into dill, which we are, I highly recommend them and if not…then I’d probably steer clear.

I always like to bring some kind of bread/carb to my family’s Thanksgiving feast, either to have something to nosh on while everyone is late getting there (always happens), or to go with the actual main event. Thanksgiving dinner is not exact the most healthful meal you can have, some I’m also always looking for some quick fixes to lighten things up.

Enter the new Pompeian Grapeseed Oil Spray – an awesome alternative to other cooking sprays out there. It’s a light, all natural cooking spray with a high smoke point that can be used for pretty much any and all culinary applications, from stir frying to grilling to sauteing and, obviously, baking. To celebrate the launch of this new cooking spray, Pompeian has partnered with Duff Goldman (the celebrity pastry chef at Charm City Cakes) to host the Better for Baking Challenge! The details go like this – from November 4th to December 6th, you can enter the challenge by following @Pompeian on Instagram and uploading a photo to Instagram, accompanied by the hashtag #Bake4Better and tagging @Pompeian, that shows how you are using the grapeseed oil spray to make your holiday baking better! The most snazzy, innovative photo taker will be crowned by Duff Goldman himself, and will win a $5,000 donation in their name to their local food bank and a Pompeian gift basket. It’s such a great and easy way to take a few minutes to give back this holiday season.

This rich, hearty soup with it's bright pesto topping comes together in mere minutes and would make for a delicious first course at a holiday meal!

Yield: 4-8 servings

Ingredients

1 tbsp butter

1 shallot, chopped

2 tbsp chopped fresh sage, divided

5 garlic cloves, minced

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

¼ tsp ground cumin

2½ cups vegetable broth

2 cups cooked or canned white beans

14 oz canned pumpkin

1 cup reduced fat milk

¾ tsp salt

2 tbsp cider vinegar

1 cup baby spinach

1 cup basil

2 tbsp pistachios, toasted

2 tbsp parmesan cheese

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp water

Instructions

Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the shallot, 1 tbsp sage, and garlic to the pan. Saute for 4 minutes or until lightly browned. Add in the cayenne and cumin and saute for 1 minute more, stirring constantly. Stir in the vegetable broth, stirring to scrape up any browned bits. Stir in the beans and pumpkin. Puree with an immersion blender. Stir in the milk and salt. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, and then stir in the vinegar. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

For the pesto, combine the remaining sage, spinach, basil, pistachios and parmesan cheese in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until coarsely ground. Add in the water and olive oil. Pulse until smooth. Season to taste with salt. Serve each bowl of soup with a dollop of pesto on top.

Rolls stuffed with herby dill flavor make the perfect accompaniment to soup, salad, or Thanksgiving dinner!

Yield: 8-12 rolls

Ingredients

½ cup reduced fat milk

2 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp active dry yeast

½ cup buttermilk

2 tbsp finely chopped fresh dill

1½ tsp salt

2½ cups all purpose flour, plus more as necessary

4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted, divided

Instructions

Heat the milk in the microwave for 30 seconds to a minute, until it is warm to the touch. Stir the sugar and yeast into the milk and let sit until foamy, about 5 minutes.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the bread hook attachment, combine the flour, salt, and the dill, whisking to combine. Stir in the milk mixture, buttermilk, and 2 tbsp of the melted butter. Stir on medium speed until a sticky dough forms, adding more dough as needed. Stir on medium speed for 5 minutes, or knead until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Transfer the dough to a bowl sprayed with cooking spray and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm area until doubled in size, about an hour. Punch down the dough and let rise again for another hour. Punch down the dough and divide it into 8-12 pieces, depending on the size of the rolls that you want (I made 8).

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray the top with cooking spray. Roll each piece of dough into a ball and then place on the baking sheet, at least 2" apart from each other. Brush tops with the remaining butter and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let rise about 20-30 minutes, or until doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 400.

Bake the rolls until puffed up and deep golden brown on top and bottom, about 15-20 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack before serving.

I think I am in love with this meal, from the bisque to the dill rolls, what a nice combination!

Thanksgiving this year will be at our home with grad students that for one reason or another cannot go to their parents’ home. SHould be fun, but we will probably stick to the classics from Phil’s family. You know, marital bliss comes first

BTW, I was shocked to realize I did not have your blog on my blogroll, and fixed the problem 😉 It was good, I removed some links I had of blogs I either stopped visiting or they stopped blogging. Good to renew things every once in a while

Both of these look amazing! Those rolls would be the perfect addition to any Thanksgiving table.
Have fun with wedding planning – Pinterest is suuuper helpful, as I’m sure you’ve already found out I have a gazillion fall-themed boards from our planning last year if you want to follow any of them for ideas!

I have never used cooking sprays. Do you like them? I usually just brush on the oil, if it is supposed to be a thin coat. Hate to own more kinds of stuff than necessary, you know? But if spray is better somehow, I’d give it a try.

Right now, we’re on squash soup and I’m fixing to make white bean next…why have I not thought to combine the two in some way (even though you’re talking pumpkin, I realize)…fantastic idea! The rolls look so good, too. I’ve got some biscuits in the freezer but I would love a few of your dill rolls. Anyway, a good bowl of soup does calm and soothe everything, doesn’t it. Have fun with your wedding planning – what an adventure!

So, I am a tad jelly that you get to plan a wedding. I remember thinking it was dreadful, but once it was done, I really missed it. Enjoy every minute of it, even if you want to shank people! Oh, and you can come to Thanksgiving with us if you make this soup? K. Thanks.

The key to staying sane while planning a wedding is to decide what handful of components are most important to you–and then let everything else be however it’s going to be. If certain things aren’t a priority, they aren’t worth worrying about. Anyway. These rolls sound wonderful! Is there anything better than a hot, herby roll with a bowl of soup? I ask you.

Aw, don’t stress about wedding planning! It’ll all get done…especially since you’re wonder woman who manages to do a million things in your daily life. I particularly want to try these biscuits since I’m a lover of dill

Wedding planning can definitely make you crazy, but I found once I had the “big” stuff taken care I was able to relax a little. And if all else fails curl up on the couch with a bowl of this soup, a few biscuits and an episode of your favorite show. It’s the cure-all!

brilliant meal – I want it now – so so delicious – in fact if I did celebrate thanksgiving I would be happy just to eat this for my meal – and if this soup and bread stops you turning into bridezilla then you need to keep eating it

Soup with rolls! How yummy and comforting. I wonder if I was actually better off organising my wedding without Pinterest? Because there’s no end to Pinterest – you have to keep going back to have another and another look because more and more keeps getting uploaded! Exhausting and stressful! My friend Mimi is now back from NY and she showed me her beautiful medal today. She was disappointed to run 4 hrs 13 mins and wanted to do better but said the cold got to her. She said it was 4C and we don’t get those sorts of temps here and she said the waiting around for 3 hrs for the race to start just about did her in xx

First, this soup sounds amazing. It’s going on my menu next week. Second, I’m completely jealous that you are planning a wedding in the age of Pinterest. I think that would be so much fun. Well, minus the yelling. Hang in there. It will get both better and worse!

OH my, do those rolls look amazing. I have been craving homemade bread like nothing else lately, but have had no time to make a proper yeasted loaf. Problem solved! I love the fact that I would be able to make a big batch of these and freeze them individually to enjoy later, too.

Wedding planning is SO exciting! Well, I’m glad I’m over and done with mine though! Have heaps of fun and just savour the moment of being engaged. I remembered appreciating the time needing to prepare for us to be a married couple- so precious! So many things to think and discuss about your future life together. In the meantime, now isnt he a lucky boy with such a hearty soup- DILL in rolls, what a brilliant idea!

It’s funny I went from being someone who said I didn’t really care about my wedding to now being on pinterest and weddinggawker constantly (especially when I’m supposed to be doing work!) – there are just too many amazing ideas out there to look at! I’ll definitely be stalking your Pinterest board 😉 And making this delicious soup!

Whoa… where have I been? Wedding planning?? Congratulations! I think I would be spending a lot of my time on Pinterest too 😉
Now those rolls look to DIE for!! I would love some of those for Thanksgiving (yes, I think I will be celebrating American thanksgiving too!)

Oh my…wedding planning…a tough task at best. I’m sure, though, you’ll do well. These 2 recipes, well, yum. Looked and I have everything in stock! So will be making these 2 in the next 1-3 days. Thanks so much!

Loving this squash soup–especially with that wonderful sage pesto and the dill-flecked rolls. (Two of my favorite herbs lately!) Thanks for sharing it with Souper Sundays–it was great to have you back this week! 😉

We’re about to get “snowed in” in Atlanta for the second time in two weeks. You can laugh. I understand. Anyway, to celebrate this event I am going back to this delicious soup for the third time. To me it is total comfort food, and so so easy to make! Thanks for yet another wonderful recipe that will have many repeat appearances on our table!